COSME is one of the key programmes of the European Union with a budget of 2,3 billion Euros, which is designed for the period from 2014 to 2020 and aimed at creating favourable conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Joining COSME provides for Ukraine's access to the programme budget of about 900 million Euros. Financial resources will be provided in the form of grants to finance projects that support the export and innovation activities of SMEs.
On the 22 February 2017, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on the participation of Ukraine in the EU COSME programme — “Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” (COSME).
Who has the right to participate in COSME programmes?
- domestic small and medium business;
- Ukrainian business associations;
- public organisations;
- unions;
- clusters;
- educational institutions;
- government departments;
- regional development agencies.
There are 23 programmes available to Ukraine that are classified into 3 areas:
- Facilitating the entry of SMEs into external markets — providing advisory services on export-import activities of SMEs in the EU and world markets;
- Improvement of conditions for competitiveness, including the promotion of the internationalisation of clusters, identification and elimination of unnecessary regulatory barriers;
- Formation of business culture: educational programmes, sectoral trainings, seminars, exchange programmes, internships etc.
More information about the COSME programme is available on the page of the European Executive agency for SMEs (EASME).
COSME allows to:
1. Participate in various COSME sub-programmes and projects, including receiving consultations, trainings, practical information on market opportunities, European legislation, search for business partners, tender opportunities and international cooperation, etc.
How to participate in a contest within COSME?
- Go to the site and select the competition you want. The information is constantly updated, so please follow the ads on the website.
- Make sure that the deadline for the application is not yet reached and your organization meets the criteria of the competition.
- Carefully read the description and conditions of the contest and download to fill out the form, which should be below the description of the competition. Submission of the project proposal is carried out online only.
- If you have any questions about filling out the forms, you can contact the EEN-Ukraine Consortium for advice.
Pay attention that the completion of the forms for any competition within the COSME should be in English. Evaluation and announcement of the results of competitions is carried out by the European Commission. The working programme of the COSME 2017 (with a list of available sub-programmes) can be found on the official website of the European Commission (in English) and on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development.
What is Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)?
2. Get full access to the European Enterprise Network — EEN and find partners in the EU and other EEN member countries. European Enterprise Network (EEN) is the largest sub-programme of COSME; the EEN was established in 2008 and is supported by the COSME project. The EEN is a virtual trading platform and covers 65 countries where more than 600 business associations work. It also includes more than 2,500,000 participating companies, more than 16,000 technological developments and business proposals. During the year EEN holds about 100 major events for businesses, where more than 18,000 participating companies (b2b meetings) are looking for partners.
With the help of EEN, Ukrainian entrepreneurs can:
- Look for potential buyers of products in the EU and other EEN member countries;
- Place commercial orders, distribute / track commercial offers;
- Search and attract the latest technology from abroad;
- Search for investors and partners in the EU and other EEN member countries, including the creation of joint ventures.
You can apply and participate in the EEN through the members of the EEN-Ukraine Consortium. Services of members of the Consortium within the framework of EEN are free!
The EEN Consortium’s duty is to inform you as much as possible about the possibilities of the COSME, HORIZON 2020 programs and all programs and projects financially supported by the EU available to Ukraine. The Consortium members respond to the requests of European EEN participants, make a selective evaluation of the commercial and technological projects that are placed by participants in the EEN system, and also teach how to use all the opportunities provided by the system. They support potential participants in the search for partners in the EU to participate in projects (many COSME projects envisage the formation of an international consortium of participants, usually at least four organisations and no less than three different countries). According to the EU rules, another 5-6 additional consortia within the EEN framework can be created on the territory of Ukraine. Registration of a new consortium is possible within the framework of the relevant competition announced by the EU.
Registration in EEN
- Register on the website of the European Commission
or
- Contact any partner of the EEN-Ukraine Consortium
Placement of a business proposal in the EEN network
- Contact any of the partners of the EEN-Ukraine Consortium
- Determine the type of proposal (technological or business proposal / technological or business request)
- Obtain from the partner of the EEN-Ukraine Consortium a form for filling in English according to the type of proposal (the forms can be downloaded later in this section)
- Fill out the form and send it to one of the partners of the EEN-Ukraine Consortium, which after the check-up will place it in the EEN system;
- Your proposal will be evaluated internally and externally by experts.
After the necessary amendments, in accordance with the recommendations of experts, your proposal will be posted on the EEN website, where it will be available for viewing in 65 countries.
Contacts of members of the EEN Consortium EEN – Ukraine:
- Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine
Address: Kyiv, Antonovych street, 174, 01008. Oleksandra Fedorko, +38 044 596 6853, [email protected].
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Address: Kyiv, Mikhailivska square, 1, 01018, phone: 044 238 17 77; Roman Honchar, [email protected]; Yulia Osmolovska, [email protected]; Dmytro Tymoshenko, [email protected].
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine
Address: Kyiv, Velyka Zhitomirska street, 33, 01601, phone: + 380 44 279 29 31, Evhenii Kurulenko, [email protected].
- LLC “New International Corporation”
Address: Kyiv, Vanda Vasilevska street, 7, 04116, phone: +380 44 236 07 70, Ivana Nebius; [email protected].
- Department of Technology Transfer of the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Address: Kyiv, Prospect Nauky, 46, 03680, phone: + 380 44 525 98 41, Fesenko Olena, [email protected]
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Address Kyiv, Volodimirska street, 64/13, 01601, phone: +380 44 526 05 51, Oleksandr Bediukh, [email protected]
- Public Association “Spozhyvach”
Address: Dnipro, Cicherina, 74, 49000 Olha Halushko, phone: +380 50 480 4836, [email protected]
All services of the Consortium members are free of charge. In case of extortion of additional unreasonable payment, you can complain to the European Executive agency for SMEs.
Additional materials
- Form for the business proposal EEN
- Form for EEN business request
- EEN development request form
- Form for the technological request EEN
- Form for the technological proposal EEN
In preparing the material, the information of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and other members of the EEN-Ukraine Consortium had been used